Posted
by
Soulskill
on Sunday November 15, 2009 @01:56PM
from the we-missed-them-so-much dept.

An anonymous reader writes "After fan outcry over ads that were patched into Wipeout HD (after it was already purchased, ad-free), Sony removed them. Now, Sony has quietly added them back in with patch 2.10: 'The 2.10 Update makes some small improvements to front-end functionality and addresses some minor issues with the audio. In addition, small issues that could affect gameplay or scores in the Eliminator and Detonator game modes have also been corrected. Changes have also been made so that any adverts shown during loading screens will not adversely affect the loading times of the title. As many of you know, the functionality to display adverts during loading screens was first introduced in the 2.0 Update and originally didn't function as intended, leading to extended loading times in some areas of the game. This issue has now been resolved and we understand that a new advertising campaign in Wipeout HD is expected to launch across a number of European territories soon (no word yet on what is happening in North America). In the meantime, a range of PlayStation-specific ads will be making an appearance in the coming days.'"

This is just another step in a long, long train of rights-withholding by corporations in this generation of console gaming. DLC that can't be shared or otherwise resold; new games that have part of the content withheld and unlocked via codes (thus denying buyers of used games from getting the content without buying it); now Sony inserting advertisements into games I've already purchased. I'd be irate it it weren't so ludicrous to begin with.